The Auburn men's golf team began the fall season this weekend at the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament in Rocky Face, Ga.
The 12th-ranked Auburn Tigers ended up placing fifth overall in the three-day tournament, shooting a collective 3-over.
The tournament was held at the par-72 Farm Golf Club Sept. 10-12.
"This is one of the best tournaments that we will see all year, right out of the gate," said head coach Nick Clinard. "The tournament is pretty early on in the year and I prefer to play a little later, but it's such a great tournament, it's hard to pass on."
Leading the Tigers' way was sophomore Blayne Barber (75-210).
Barber finished with a hard-won third place individual showing.
He was able to shoot an impressive 6-under at the competition.
Barber had managed to lead the tournament for a large portion, but was happy with how he did.
"Not being able to make some of the putts I wanted was a little frustrating," Barber said. "I played a good three days of golf, though. I hung in there mentally and stayed positive, so I am happy with how I finished."
This tournament marked the University of Central Florida transfer student's debut with Auburn's golf team.
Day One of the tournament ended with Auburn shooting a 3-under (285) and landing in 3rd place.
Barber's individual performance resulted in him tying the lead with Clemson's David Dannelly.
The pair both shot an impressive 67, 5-under-par, to aid their teams.
"We have a lot of strengths that helped us during the tournament," Clinard said. "There are a lot of holes to play and we have been working on staying strong mentally during such a long tournament."
Barber ended Friday's play averaging 3.60 strokes on par-4 holes.
He also claimed nine birdies for the day.
Juniors Will McCurdy and Kyle Kopsick were tied for 23rd with teammate and sophomore Michael Hebert.
They all shot a 72 for the day.
The Tigers were trailing the leader, Alabama, by five strokes after Day One.
On Day Two of the tournament, Auburn slipped a few spots, but managed to stay afloat with a sixth place finish for the day.
Barber (68-135) was still managing the lead, holding off Wake Forest's Evan Beck by one stroke.
Barber was leading the 60-player tournament with his par-4 average.
The sophomore was averaging 3.75 strokes per attempt.
Hebert (72-145) was also remaining strong with an 18th place finish for the day.
"All in all, I feel like I hit the ball well," Hebert said. "I gave away some shots that cost me a few strokes, but I also made some putts that helped me out."
No. 23 Clemson (283-566) finished Saturday with a one-stroke lead over No. 7 Alabama (287-567), followed by No. 17 Georgia Tech (284-571), No. 3 Georgia (284-572) and Wake Forest (284-573).
The last day of play commenced with Auburn moving up a notch to take fifth overall.
Barber lost a few strokes that cost him his lead and dropped him to a third place finish.
"It just came down to the last nine holes, and unfortunately I didn't get it done, but I feel like I'm on the right track," Barber said. "I continually try to work and improve my game, but I'm gonna try to focus on my short game."
Hebert (72-217) moved up a few spots from 18th and tied for 15th to finish the tournament, shooting a 1-over.
Alabama was able to come away with the top spot in team play, however.
The No. 7 team was followed by Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Clemson.
The Auburn men's golf team will next be heading to Tampa, Fla., Oct. 2 for the two-day Gary Koch Invitational.
"We're looking forward to a good upcoming fall season," Clinard said.
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